Baby bunnies!

[snarkfeathers]

Hello everyone! I just joined this forum today! I spent heaps of time reading over the old threads and I am so excited because I have found people that are as crazy about their pets as I am!!

It was really good to see all the bunny lovers! I have two bunnies. Well actually, I have 6 right now. Shakes (Prince William Shakespeare) is my gorgeous darling dutch baby. I've had him about 8 months. And Foxy is a "wild" rabbit that I adopted from the SPCA. They had to get "special permission" to rehome her because she is a wild bun....they were planning to kill her the next week if we hadn't adopted her! My husband complained but there was no way she wasn't coming home with us!

She is sooo pretty! We've had her about 3 months.

The thing is...she got pregnant the first day we had her. Poor baby. I need to get the bunnies fixed. I intend to. But it is too late right now...she just had babies!

So we have 4 baby buns and it's been 10 days...I just checked them and 3 out of 4 have open eyes now! It's so exciting!

One of the babies was born without a tail. ????? Has anyone heard of this? He seems healthy...I figure, we want to keep one anyway so we can keep him...if he lives. I'm just worried that he might have problems....

Little Manxy or "no tail" is soo cute! He seems fine now. I am trying not to get too attatched to them....I have read about the high mortality rates....

I guess I just have to have faith. And wait.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I feel so irresponsible as Foxy is now preggers again and so we won't be able to get her fixed until after the next litter. More baby bunnies....but....I can't wait!

So many of you have "house bunnies." We couldn't bear to keep ours imprisioned in the hutch. We just bought a house with an enclosed patio and now they live outside. But the little monsters are always trying to sneak inside! They act like they are starving all the time but we feed them HEAPS!
They are just so naughty! Always causing trouble! But I can't imagine a life without my buns.

I had no idea what I was getting into when we got Shakes. I had no idea that bunnies were so...independent. I mean, they look so cute and innocent...? Don't get me wrong, I've had animals all my life...I guess I just underestimated the bunnies. They are so FUNNY! They have such a sense of humour! But they're not like cats...they're not like dogs...somehow they are like both...but not....

I look at my life now and I think, how could I NOT have rabbits? The little monsters have taken over everything...and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

[Suki Wingy]

they sound so cute! I have a netherland dwarf named Oslo. I'm glad you're getting him neutered

[Karen]

Beautiful bunnies! Yup, keep Foxy separate from Shakes as soon as the babies are born. Rabbits can get pregnant right after giving birth, because in the wild, they are prey for everyone else, so having a sky-high reproductive rate is what keep the species going! Thank you for taking Foxy before they could have put her to sleep!

My bunny, Miss Hoppy, is a house bunny, too! She's blocked from the office in our house, because she is of the strong conviction that cables MUST be cut and moved away from the wall, but she rules most of the rest of the house with a firm and furry paw!

[buttercup132]

If she keeps getting pregnant DO NOT put her with the male...simple as that. And for her to be pregnant already again...is going to cause her troubles. I suggest you DONT put them any where near each other till they are fixed!And even after that wait 2 months because he can still impregnate her. Please stop its bad for her and good for people who eat bunnies(and yes these guys would be good size if they are mixed with a wild bunny...)
Or snake food wich is a worse way for the poor baby to die because it will most likley be alive!

As for the baby with no tail he will be fine I know bunnies that have been born with no ear and are fine , it's just a defect like humans get.

Welcome to PT it is great here but when you post about irresponsible sttuff some people including myself get very upset about it. Your Dutch boy dose look very content laying in the grass and seems you take good care of them (except for the babies)
I'm am owned by a 2 year old Lionhead mix named Teddy and 7 week old purebred Lionhead named Muffin.
This is Ted(We call him Ted for short)

And Muffin

[snarkfeathers]

OMG...your buns are sooo cute! Thanks for easing my mind about the no-tail.

As for the rest...well, I understand why you would be upset. Please forgive me for my inexperience and let me explain myself better.

We always intended to get Shakes neutered. We also wanted to get a companion for him. We thought "why not get a doe...we should breed him at least once before we got him neutered." Selfish and immature...probably. We intended to get another dutch dwarf and have purebred babies but Foxy came into our lives instead. When we first brought her home she was mean and always growling but has gradually calmed down. Since she's had the babies she has become WAY more affectionate too. And her babies are gorgeous and look like purebred dwarfs and not wild rabbits. I suspect that she may be part dwarf/rex/? because she is quite small. I very much doubt that her babies would be considered as people food.

We already had a very good pet store/vet that told us they would take any healthy babies if we decided to breed, and since we don't have pet snakes in New Zealand, I'm not worried about them becoming snakefood!

I am worried about them finding good homes with people who will treat them right and not coop them up in tiny hutches. Although I know they will be treated very well while at the store (they have a special large area for bunnies and guinea pigs) I can't be sure who will buy them. This is one of the main reasons I must get them fixed asap - I don't think it's right to keep making heaps of babies and not have good homes for them. Would also be getting them fixed for their health and happiness of course. I might have to rehome them myself so that I can screen the people...I just would hate not knowing who they end up with. We are also planning to keep at least one of the babies in the family, and get properly neutered when old enough of course.

I do intend to get Shakes fixed asap (before Foxy has the next litter so in the next couple weeks). What you wrote about him still being able to impregnate her after he is fixed concerns me...I really don't want to separate them for that long unless absolutely necessary.

Shakes has been so much happier since we got Foxy...and not just for the sex (she won't let him when she's preggers). They do everything together now. We have tried to separate them after she got pregnant but they both seem miserable when they are not together.

All in all, our bunnies are pampered and happy pets. So I hope nobody gets upset or angry because of my previous post.

Someone please advise on the 2 month separation! She can still get pregnant after she's fixed doesn't make sense to me cause they take out the ovaries right?

[Karen]

She can still get pregnant after HE is neutered. After she's spayed, then she cannot, but for male rabbits, there's a bit of a waiting period before they're incapable of producing offspring.

[buttercup132]

Thats good that you dont have pet snakes in your area I guess , so it slims that down. Why dont you put a addin the paper for the babies and make them fill out a contract saying they MUST spay/nuter there babies when they are 6 months and to have no interaction with any male/female bunnies until then. To have updates on them monthly and if they were to ever not want them anymore to give them back to you. To always be in contact with you and to always make sure you know where they are.
I know I have too made the mistake of having 2 litters of babies aswell and I got in lots of trouble with people on my bunny board. And it was fun having babies but after you look at the reality and what their lives will be like it's just not worth it for your pleasure. It also is bad for the girl to have too mnay litters and for them to be so close together. I belive you are a good person but just need to fix your bunnies I do hope you stick around we need more bunny people. Got any more pictures to share?

[jackie]

Looking forward to seeing more pictures of your buns!

I am glad you are opting to get the buns fixed asap!

[Miss Z]

Your bunnies are very sweet! I used to keep bunnies, and i know how fun they are to keep!

I was comforted today when i saw that one of your bunnies is called Foxy, as you can see in my avatar, i recently lost my beautiful smoke pearl cross syrian hamster, and her name was Foxy . Thanks for reminding me of her today

[snarkfeathers]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the positive feedback! I would love to share more pics but someone (my hubby) dropped our camera...grrr...
money's tight...so first I will get Shakes fixed and then the camera! Might be a few weeks...probably too late for this litter but I will definately post pics of the next litter...maybe put something on Flikr.

These babies are sooooo unbelievable adorable! They are so active now, it won't be long until they get out of the nest box! There is one we call Lightning because he has a little lightning bolt stripe but otherwise he takes after Shakes - black with white band and blaze. The other three are agouti with white bands and two of them have tiny white stars. We've dubbed them, Flash, No-tail, and Bighead (no star). Lightning is timid but curious, Flash is sweet and curious, No-tail is just sweet, and Bighead is ballsy. Lightning is my hubby's fave and I like Flash the most...so looks like we might keep two. I wonder though...what happens when the next litter is just as precious...do we keep two more...? hmm................
How many is too many?

We just moved into this house (our first house) a couple months ago, and have lots of plans for their patio. They have an enclosed porch, the brick patio and a dirt area with trees right now but we want to put in a grassy strip and plants for them to munch on. I also want some flowers or an herb garden in the back but I know they will eat everything! So I can maybe put stuff in pots or build raised beds or tall topiary herbs like bay and rosemary... but I don't know if I have the patience for that! Any ideas?

[snarkfeathers]

your Foxy was beautiful! what a gorgeous colour!

What is the difference between hampsters and other rodents? I don't think we have hamsters in NZ.

Tia Maria is so cute (and great name!)

We lost our first darling ratty, Ratty, last year and it was so sad. Only a few days later we were at our pet store and they told us about this young rat they had that someone had brought back because they "didn't have enough time for her." So now we have Padmé.

We have a hard time with friends and relatives that hate rats and don't understand why we want to keep them or what wonderful pets they can be.
People hear "rat" and think of big scruffy diseased sewer rats. I think we need to start a campaign...change the name or something. Prunes are dried plums, rats can be....i dunno...mini-dogs? They're affectionate and smart and can learn tricks like dogs. Or maybe...Hand-dogs. Any ideas?

Most of my life i've had horses and cats as pets...now i have rabbits and rats. And I love ALL of them. I guess a pet is a pet. I want guinea pigs and birds next...this IS an addiction isn't it? Does anyone else go to the pet store or wherever and just stare for hours (or until hubby drags you away)?

[Miss Z]

your Foxy was beautiful! what a gorgeous colour!

What is the difference between hampsters and other rodents? I don't think we have hamsters in NZ.

Hamsters are sort of like little mice, but they have very short tails and have a much more rounded figure than other rodents. It's hard to describe how different they are, but if you saw a mouse and a hamster next to each other then you'd see a very obvious difference

Thanks, Foxy was a very pretty girl, you can't really tell from those pics, but she was a medium-haired hamster, and with smoke pearl in her, was luxoriously soft. We lost her to an internal tumour in January and she was just a little over a year old, I still miss her terribly

We have a hard time with friends and relatives that hate rats and don't understand why we want to keep them or what wonderful pets they can be.
People hear "rat" and think of big scruffy diseased sewer rats. I think we need to start a campaign...change the name or something. Prunes are dried plums, rats can be....i dunno...mini-dogs? They're affectionate and smart and can learn tricks like dogs. Or maybe...Hand-dogs. Any ideas?

YES!!! That annoys me so much! Rats are intelligent, playful, cuddly, cute, clean.... i could go on forever, and yet they've been burdened with this stereotype of a mangy smelly animal. I think people really need correcting on this, and Tia has helped me do this. So far, i think we've converted about 10-15 people who would never have even looked at a rat to the joys of holding one and letting her climb all over you! She knows about 20-ish commands, so that proves rats are intelligent, and she's got the funniest little personality! She's a doll Yes, you're right, rats are a little like mini dogs !

[dab_20]

Well, I have bred a couple litters before. How old are the bunnies? If their eyes just opened... I'm guessing 1 1/2-3 weeks? The one without a tail I've never heard of... maybe he's just got a small one that you can't see as well.

Make SURE you seperate the bunnies male from females at 12 weeks of age. They can get each other pregnant. Since the female is pregnant again, do NOT let the male rabbit near the female. Rabbits can get re-pregnant and have 2 litters that are 2 different ages inside her.

Good Luck, and if you have anymore questions, please PM me!